Page 17 - 2013 AMA Spring

Dropping further, I was reacquainted with my skis. I untied from the rope and replaced my crampons for the planks. It was with a feeling of release I slid past the team down to the next flat area. It was incredibly hard going, skiing at over 6200 m with a heavy expedition pack took it out of me far quicker than I expected and I was fairly wasted when I reached the bottom of the slope. Unfortu- nately, this was all the skiing that took place, as the terrain was far too undulating back to camp 2 and then below it, the wind scoured snow was not conducive to staying on my feet – and falling would have seen me slide down towards a heavily crevassed zone. Over- all, the effort for the benefit did not weigh up!
Picking up more kit at camp 2, the descent to base camp was made in the one day. It was reasonably uneventful, but our van- quished summit bid looked heavy on the others’ faces. We were immensely tired when met by Claire, Justin and the cook staff, and a hearty, reviving pasta dinner was consumed in record time before collapsing in to our tents.
Rest and recovery days ensued as we waited for the mules to make their way up from Koto, and then three days after our beat- ing back from camp 3, we left base camp for dusty Phu, which seemed to be even more dusty than remembered.
The continuing descent to Koto was pleasant, what were hard days on the way up were made easy by our improved acclimatisa- tion. More people seemed to be in the valley, with plenty of porters, trekkers and climbers snaking their way up to Phugaon. This influx of people was most obvious as we reached the Annapurna circuit. The villages were full of trekkers and around each corner yet more porters trudged up with their clients’ baggage – it was certainly high season in the region! We were glad that we had taken our chances with the monsoon and missed the crowds on the way up to base camp.
Leaving the circuit after some pleasant enough, short days of walk- ing, we were back on a bus bound for Kathmandu. Our driver was certifiable, driving in a such way that made us wish for the land- slides and flooding endured the previous month, at least that would have stopped him overtaking on blind corners!
We were a few days early back to Kathmandu, so some hardcore souvenir shopping was done in Thamel. The majesty of the Boud- hanath Stupa (a UNESCO World Heritage Site) and the amusing scenes at the Monkey Temple were also taken in during our days of R+R.
Leaving early after 40 days in country, we made our way to the airport. The bureaucracy of the airport in Kathmandu was astound- ing – the only place I’ve ever been where hand luggage has been checked at security and then again getting on the plane! As we lifted over the city and climbed out east before banking through 180°, the views of the Nepalese Himalayas were incredible. More 8000 m peaks were visible than we knew to name, though the gargantuan scale of Everest was plain to see.
We were tired and had each lost weight that showed in our faces, but we felt the expedition had been a success. The summit was not reached, but we had taken a relatively inexperienced
team to climb a peak with little known about it
and learnt an enormous amount about ‘expe- ditioning’. Everyone was still speaking to each other and we all had our fingers
and toes intact. The seed of Himalayan climbing had certainly been sown in
my mind. A fantastic expedition and I would like to thank the AMA for their financial support.
ARMY MOUNTAINEER 15